Best PlacesRock Creek, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rock Creek, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Rock Creek ranks 12,316th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rock Creek
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Rock Creek's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rock Creek ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 97% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 156 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of towns
- Short commute19.4 minutes each way, better than 90% of towns
Where Rock Creek ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 15% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rock Creek
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rock Creek home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $91,082, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Rock Creek's effective rate of 0.43%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rock Creek
Rock Creek runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Rock Creek.
Who works in Rock Creek, and how
Work in Rock Creek centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Rock Creek
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Rock Creek.
What the weather is like in Rock Creek, month by month
Rock Creek sees roughly 156 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 29° | 19° |
| April | 62° | 45° | 29° |
| July | 91° | 70° | 47° |
| October | 65° | 46° | 30° |
Flying in and out of Rock Creek
The nearest airport, Eastern Oregon Regional at Pendleton, is about 66 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 130 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rock Creek
Schools across Rock Creek average a B+, better than 80% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Haines Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Brooklyn Primary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Central Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- La Grande Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- South Baker Intermediate SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- La Grande High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rock Creek school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rock Creek measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Rock Creek against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rock Creek
Is Rock Creek a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rock Creek ranks 12,316th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, clean air, and the weather, and lowest on distance from a big city and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rock Creek expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $462,183. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $91,082 median income, cost of living beats 57% of towns.
Is Rock Creek safe?
Yes, Rock Creek is safer than 91% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $218 per resident a year.
Compare Rock Creek with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rock Creek. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rock Creek represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Rock Creek detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rock Creek: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rock Creek: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rock Creek: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rock Creek: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rock Creek detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.